Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level and concerns.

Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

Warm Up

5 minutes

As students enter the classroom, they will answer the following prompt:

In yesterday's lesson, you read and annotated an article. You identified the author's claim and evaluated the claim's evidence. Today, you are going to create your own argument and support that argument with evidence. Please take three minutes and reread the article and look over your graphic organizer you created yesterday. After you read, highlight the author's three most convincing pieces of evidence.

I ask students to do this because it has been 24 hours since they read the article. I want it to be fresh in their mind.

Student Work Time--Write, Write, Write!

40 minutes

I added to the prompt that is on top of the ArticleoftheWeek011314 assignment. I wanted students to use evidence beyond what was just in the article (W.9-10.7). I ask students to do that because it helps them make connections between topics and ideas/topics they have previously read or heard. Here is my revised prompt:

Write a one-two page reflection of your thoughts-agree or disagree with the author's claim(s). Begin with a strong claim that is supported with evidence from the text AND evidence from something else you've read, current events, historical events, society, etc.(W.9-10.1a, W.9-10.1b) Please underline your claim so I can find it easily.

When you are finished writing, read what you have written and revise for clarity (W.9-10.5).

Finally, before you turn it in, please use a highlighter to mark the part of the text you feel most confident about.

I ask students to highlight their best section because often students write something and then immediately turn it in. They don't give themselves a chance to think critically about what they wrote. Highlighting makes them think critically about it. Plus, when students come to my desk to turn in their papers, I quickly ask them why they highlighted that section and I write one sentence summary of what they told me. That way, when I'm grading the papers, I have additional information about their essay and what they felt about it.